The Baboon in the Basement

Artist: Martin Gordon
Label: Radiant Future UK
Category: Music

Average customer rating:

Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1

UPC: 825947126923
EAN: 0825947126923
ASIN: B0000DIJR9

Release Date: 2003-11-04

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Tracks:

Its Like It's Like
Anyway Goodbye
Terrible Mess (No-Good Shoebomber)
Why Do I
Hit Him on the Head (With a Hammer)
Only One Dream Per Person
Baboon in the Basement
Let's Make Money
We Love You
Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles
She's So Pleasant Today
Good Girls Gone Bad
Tonight
Greenfinger
That Girl
Anyway Goodbye

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Customer Reviews:

Martin Gordon-Start Here.......2004-03-02

Michael C has it right on! Martin Gordon has created a fantastic album! Gordon is a master at crafting hook laden melodies with intelligent funny lyrics. It's a shame this album will probably slip into oblivion. If you like Sparks, Jet or anything else Martin has been involved with, YOU WILL LOVE THIS CD!!!

Outstanding belated solo debut.......2003-12-16

After his brief tenure in Sparks (with his strong contributions on their breakthrough Kimono My House album), bass player extraordinaire Martin Gordon established himself as a songwriter. Working with former John's Children alums Andy Ellison (vocals) and Chris Towson (drums), Gordon penned sophisticated glam rock (a la his former band and Roxy Music) for the one-album-only Jet and punchy, sarcastic rock `n' roll for Radio Stars. Gordon's lyrics are witty and memorable and he has an innate talent for creating big hooky choruses.
Since Radio Stars's demise, Gordon has devoted most of his energies to working with other artists, only sporadically venturing into his own projects. So this solo disc is long overdue. Thankfully, time has only strengthened Gordon's songwriting chops. There are a few songs that sound like they could have been Radio Stars songs (in some cases, because they were originally penned for Radio Stars; in all cases, because this is the guy who wrote Radio Stars's songs -- duh!), and other songs that would sound as contemporary during the heyday of Jet as they do compared to bands like Pulp or The New Pornographers today.
Gordon's songs generally have spunk aplenty, combined with sharp lyrics that alternate among spheres of keen observation, Menckenesque misanthropy and giddy silliness. What is particularly impressive is that Gordon avoids the trap of many traversing the smart and, dare I say it, clever path, in that he writes lyrics that flow with, rather than constrict, the music. More importantly, he fleshes out his concepts, so songs aren't just a joke repeated for four minutes till fade out.
Gordon and his band (which, in addition to Towson includes guitarist Andy Reimer and vocalist Pelle Almgren) take you to a funhouse world where Germans run Heaven somewhat like the Department of Motor Vehicles, though with more efficiency, a woman is told to hit her lover on the head with a hammer (hey, Captain Beefheart has already noted that "nowadays a woman's gotta hit a man to make him understand."), and Richard Reid's reaction when he's unable to light his shoe bomb is that he's "in a terrible mess."
It's also a world where the cover tunes are uniformly terrific. The versions of T. Rex's *Unicorn* track "Warlord of the Royal Crocodiles" and The Rolling Stones "We Love You" (which has a bit of a trippy psych-dance vibe) are swell, but the version of the latter day Move classic "Tonight" is superb. It's not a case of some daring rearrangement. It's just a case of the musicians nailing the song. In particular, kudos must go out to Almgren. He is a great singer, with a voice that effortlessly handles whatever material Gordon gives him. Almgren reminds me a bit of Sweet's Brian Connolly, another singer who never seemed to strain and had a deceptive power, though they don't sound much alike. "Tonight" is one of many effective showcases for Almgren's talent, as he immediately engages with the material.
Almgren does a great job selling (sort of pun intended) material like "Let's Make Money", which could be used at George W. Bush fundraising stops. The song is a sly put down of materialism, with a nice Bo Diddley variation rhythm, and Gordon's purported first recorded bass solo. Then there's the painfully funny "Green Finger". The protagonist buys his sweetheart a cheap faux gold ring. She's allergic to the fake stuff. Uh oh. This is a rollicking number that is reminiscent of Wreckless Eric at his best, with percolating pub rock leavened by gentle humor.
The title track is a showcase for Reimer. He gets to show off, with an array of licks that make him a suitable substitute for Adrian Belew. And this isn't wanky showing off. The oddball guitar parts weave in well with the tribal percussion. While no other number delves into this musical style, "Baboon" is characteristic of the electricity and energy throughout the disc. Whether it's the musical drama of "She's So Pleasant", which has a sweeping chorus that will please fans of early Duran Duran (admit it, they wrote some good tunes back in the day), the rollicking riff-fueled pop-rock of lead cut "It's Like It's Like...", which has a nifty middle eight in the vein of The Move, or the build up of the complete "Anyway Goodbye" -- it has tension building verses, a sing-a-long chorus, and provides a primer on how to live a short life: "don't check regularly the state of your health/spending money improves your wealth/take your vitamins and don't do sport/keep off yoga and stay overwrought." Slow suicide has never been so fun!
Even though this album is defined by these dynamic tracks, the best song may be the slow and elegant "Only One Dream Per Person". As referenced above, this is Gordon's view of what Heaven would be like if run by Germans, though it is equally applicable to corporate society. The song proceeds at a languid pace with a drawn out melody which provides the proper atmosphere for the condescending lyrics: "Your wish is, of course, is our command/just stand in line/that row is only for Aryans/this is just vegetarians/observe the customs/when doubtful, just follow the sign." This is one of those songs, like Randy Newman's "Sail Away", that takes a premise that could be tacky or tasteless, and through surgically precise lyrics, turns out funny and thoughtful.
This album is a testament to Gordon's talent, both as a songwriter and as a band leader. This is as good as anything he has ever done.

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